Archive | General Property Trust

Published 21 February 2011

The GPT Group announced binding contracts last Wednesday for the sale of its US seniors housing portfolio to Health Care REIT Inc, a publicly traded US real estate investment trust for $US890 million, reflecting a passing yield of 6.2%.

GPT chief executive & managing director Michael Cameron said the sale marked an important milestone in delivering on the group’s strategy of exiting non-core businesses and focusing on the active ownership of high-quality Australian retail, office & industrial assets.

The US seniors portfolio consisted of a 95% interest in 34 senior living communities. Mr Cameron said GPT would net $A324 million for its equity interest in the portfolio after sale costs, taxes and the release of asset level debt, realise an $A119 million capital gain against the June 2010 book value of $A205 million and increase NTA by A6c/share.

With this sale, GPT has exited all but 2 of its offshore non-core assets. The exceptions are small interests in 2 real estate funds in Europe.

The sale is due to settle by June and would be earnings neutral for GPT in 2011. It will initially use the proceeds to reduce borrowings, cutting group gearing from 25% to 22.5%.

Mr Cameron said GPT had identified this portfolio as non-core in 2008, but continued to hold it until a value-creating sale could be completed. “With improvements in the US investment market now occurring and an increase in the level of interest by potential buyers, the timing is right for us to exit the sector. The sale delivers a substantial uplift against current book value and a lift in GPT’s NTA, which is an important focus for us.

“The divestment delivers on our commitment to return to the active ownership, management and development of high quality Australian real estate. It also provides additional capacity to reinvest into compelling opportunities in Australia and undertake alternative capital management strategies.”

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Attribution: Company release, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 4 April 2007

GPT (the General Property Trust) has sold $A1.9 billion of prized Australian shopping centres into a wholesale fund, which closed oversubscribed on Monday.

The GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund will own 50% of the super-regional Highpoint Shopping Centre & adjoining Homemaker City Maribyrnong bulky goods centre in Melbourne and 50% of the Macarthur Square major regional centre in Sydney.

Highpoint has gross lettable area of 120,770m² and the book value of the fund’s interest is $A622.5 million, Homemaker City 21,200m² & $A29.5 million, Macarthur Square 90,500m² & $A411.5 million (all figures for 100%).

The new fund will own 100% of 5 other centres: Wollongong Central, 39,300m² & $A217.7 million; sub-regional centre Carlingford Court, 33,100m² & $A192 million; & neighbourhood centre Forestway, 9600m² & $A78.1 million, all in New South Wales; plus 2 Victorian regional centres, Chirnside Park, 37,400m² & $A200 million; & Parkmore, 36,400m² & $A175 million.

GPT chief executive Nic Lyons said establishment of the fund was consistent with GPT’s stated strategy of growing its funds management business, building on the success of the group’s first wholesale fund, the GPT Wholesale Office Fund, which was launched in July 2006.

“The growth of the group’s wholesale funds management platform to meet the increasing demand from institutional investors for direct property exposure to quality real estate assets represents an important part of GPT’s growth strategy. “In addition to leveraging the skills & experience of our team, GPT’s development of a funds management platform provides us with potential for stronger earnings growth and deepens the group’s access to a number of different capital sources,” he said.Matthew Faddy has been appointed fund manager after several years as chief operating officer of GPT’s retail business.

GPT will hold 40% of the fund and continue to hold an $A3.8 billion portfolio of 16 retail property assets (including the other half of the 50% interests sold into the fund).

The selldown of the portfolio to the fund was worth $A1.2 billion to GPT from about 20 institutions’ purchases of equity, which it will initially use to retire debt. “This will enhance GPT’s capacity to fund its significant development pipeline (which through assets held on balance sheet and within the group’s wholesale funds has a potential value of about $A3 billion), to fund the additional capital commitment to the group’s joint venture with Babcock & Brown and to further invest in opportunities across the group’s investment portfolio.”Mr Lyons said the fund was launched with no gearing, so it had significant capacity for further investment. “In addition, the fund has substantial development potential, including development projects identified across the existing assets in the medium term.

Website: GPT

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Attribution: Company release, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 21 March 2006

General Property Trust has bought 50% of the Highpoint shopping centre in Melbourne, plus management rights, for $A621.2 million after confirming Myer Ltd wouldn’t exercise its right of refusal over the 50% interest. Settlement is scheduled for 31 March.

GPT anticipates a first-year yield of 5.8% (5.5% including acquisition costs) on its investment.GPT chief executive Nic Lyons said: “Highpoint is one of Australia’s top 10 super regional centres and is the only regional shopping centre servicing the western & north-western suburbs of Melbourne. Following completion of a recent expansion, the centre will consist of 126,000m² gross lettable area with about 400 retail tenancies.”The 50% interest was sold by the Besen family, which retains the other 50%. The family also owns the Sussan chain of fashion stores.

Published: 2 August 2005

General Property Trust, now fully split from its former manager, Lend Lease Corp, has exchanged contracts to buy a 12,900m² site in the Homebush Bay Olympic Park precinct in Sydney which, it says, could lead to $A400 million of development.

The leasehold commercial site at 5 Figtree Drive cost GPT $A19 million plus acquisition costs, putting it on a 7.5% initial yield. GPT’s industrial & business parks portfolio manager, Victor Georos, said when it was combined with 2 adjoining sites the consolidated parcel exceeded 3.1ha and had potential for a redevelopment worth an estimated $A400 million.

Since GPT bought its first Homebush site in July 2001 it’s spent $A110 million buying land in what Mr Georos said had become a vibrant business park precinct. It’s near a 2.3ha campus-style office building the trust is building for the Commonwealth Bank and would benefit from the extra retail mix provided as part of that development.

“This acquisition is a logical extension of our development pipeline in the precinct, which includes the development of the 4th & final stage of the Quad, which has been submitted for development approval, and expansion redevelopment potential at the nearby adjoining 2.5ha Samsung site.”The 5 Figtree Drive site is subject to a 99-year $A1/year peppercorn ground lease from the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, expiring in January 2088.GPT is acquiring the 9000m² office & warehouse facility from Acer Computer Australia Pty Ltd on a 4-year leaseback. The site has potential for 40,000m² of development.

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Published: 2 June 2005

General Property Trust’s management won support today for its proposal to take management inhouse and embark on a change of investment direction which will see the trust team up with investment banker Babcock & Brown for about 15% of its portfolio.

78% of all issued units were voted at the meeting in Sydney to decide GPT’s fate. All resolutions were passed by their required majorities.

But the key resolution, taking management inhouse, wasn’t decisive – the vote went 55.9% for it, 44.1% against.

The first change is for GPT Management Ltd – an arm of Lend Lease Corp Ltd, which has been the trust’s manager – to be replaced by Australian Diversified Funds Management Ltd, which will then be renamed GPT RE Ltd.

The next change is for GPT to move to a stapled security structure.

Lend Lease tried unsuccessfully to take GPT over last year and that bid was followed by another unsuccessful one from Stockland Property Group. GPT’s management then proposed its combination of internalising management, teaming up with Babcock & Brown to invest internationally – about 15% of its portfolio initially, starting with a package of European residential portfolios – and selling interests in 3 of its main shopping malls to Westfield Group.

Lend Lease still tried to get in the way of the GPT management’s moves, belatedly coming up with its own proposal to allow GPT management to shift from Lend Lease to inhouse at GPT – a bid designed to prevent the Babcock & Brown venture and the sale to Westfield.

The split got nasty early in May, when Lend Lease accused GPT management of trying to steal its staff. GPT management announced that staff voluntarily shifted to their camp, and that they’d filled all the executive roles they needed to proceed with inhouse management.

After today’s vote, Lend Lease said it would support “a smooth & expedient transition of some of its staff & resources”.GPT agreed to pay Lend Lease $A16.5 million for co-operation, services & assets in the transfer of responsibility.

Each new stapled security will consist of one share & one unit. Unitholders in the GPT split trust (split growth & income units) have 28 days to call a meeting to consider the winding up of that trust. If they don’t force a meeting, the winding up will just proceed. In the meantime they can convert to GPT ordinary units; once the winding up starts they’ll lose their redemption rights.

GPT chairman Peter Joseph told the Sydney meeting internalisation alone – the Lend Lease solution – “represents inferior value to GPT unitholders and will make GPT unstable in the future. It will also deprive unitholders of most of the $A880 million value uplift for GPT & the 16.5% increase in distributions delivered by the package of proposals.

“To offer unitholders the option of ‘internalisation alone’ would risk opening the door to a falling unit price & continued instability. We believe it would leave GPT vulnerable to another undervalued hostile takeover bid. These consequences would, in turn, demotivate our management, make it difficult to keep the best staff and impossible to attract new people of the calibre we need. Independence alone would be a recipe for instability, which itself undermines independence. We need to stay out of this ‘swamp of uncertainty.'”

Mr Joseph acknowledged the sale of mall interests to Westfield was contentious. Then he put it in the context of how the rest of the property industry, including Lend Lease, was trying to fit GPT up: “We know that late last year and early this year, Lend Lease, Westfield, Stockland & other major participants in the Australian listed property trust sector were variously discussing between themselves the future of GPT.”

He said the deal with Westfield stopped Westfield – and others – putting together alternatives that would have been less beneficial to GPT unitholders.

The European venture is an $A1 billion investment, 90% of the money for it coming from GPT. In Australia, it will still own a diversified portfolio valued at $A8.2 billion .Its retail portfolio will be cut from $A4.7 billion to $A4 billion, but it will still be the 2nd biggest retail portfolio in Australia.

Mr Joseph said GPT wouldn’t be standing still in Australia – it had identified $A1 billion of development opportunities.

He suggested GPT’s units would trade in a range of $A3.61-3.81 after the vote, above the $A3.61 close on Wednesday. Ironically, what got the price up there was the takeover speculation that had proved so disruptive – a year ago, before the Lend Lease bid, GPT units were trading at just over $A3. In the absence of the management’s proposals succeeding or another bid being made, the price would fall again.

Earlier stories:

14 May 2005, page 1: Grant Samuel’s GPT assessment has wider relevance, and Lend Lease critique raises serious questions

Page 2: Grant Samuel questions European deal but doesn’t put it down, says Westfield price fair

Page 3: Lend Lease chiefs say GPT package less rewarding & riskier

11 May 2005: Lend Lease tells GPT unitholders to vote no

10 May 2005: GPT split from Lend Lease gets nasty

22 March 2005: GPT’s European investment venture outlined

4 March 2005: Stockland still under 1% of GPT as bid closes

17 February 2005: GPT plans global venture with Babcock & Brown, internalised management, to sell interests in 3 malls to Westfield

Websites: GPT internalisation proposal

General Property Trust

Lend Lease

Babcock & Brown

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Published: 4 March 2005

Stockland Property Group didn’t make it to 1% of General Property Trust in its failed takeover bid, made after GPT’s manager, Lend Lease Corp Ltd, was also rebuffed.

Stockland’s daily notices to the ASX looked fine if you took away the decimal point. By Thursday it had 0.7777% of GPT. Its offer closed today.

So, after fighting off 2 takeover bids in the past year, GPT can get on with its own expansion programme, outlined last month.

Earlier stories:

17 February 2005: GPT plans global venture with Babcock & Brown, internalised management, to sell interests in 3 malls to Westfield

24 January 2005: GPT pulls out overdue revaluations to show how bad Stockland offer is

21 December 2004: Grant Samuel sees nothing compelling in Stockland offer for GPT

18 November 2004: Lend Lease merger with GPT blocked

9 November 2004: Stockland upsets the Lend Lease applecart

8 August 2004: GPT’s independent directors agree to new Lend Lease merger terms

28 July 2004: GPT’s independent directors reject Lend Lease merger offer

25 May 2004: Lend Lease proposes merger with General Property trust to create $A10 billion business

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Published: 12 February 2005

General Property Trust produced an annual result on Friday which shows it’s doing very well. Unfortunately, after the January release of revaluations used to dampen enthusiasm for Stockland Property Group’s hostile takeover bid, many comparisons of GPT’s annual performance can’t be made with any accuracy.

GPT increased its retail portfolio by a net $A612.5 million through revaluations in 2004, $A29 million more than it indicated 3 weeks ago when it used a bunch of very belated revaluations to discourage support for Stockland Property Group’s hostile takeover bid.

Some of GPT’s properties hadn’t been revalued since 2001.

The balance sheet shows GPT has $A9.1 billion of assets, 29.7% gearing (against a maximum 40% allowed).

Gross assets were increased by $A1.4 billion from $A7.7 billion, but on my reckoning from the figures released in January that would include $A900 million gross in revaluations. Against the other $A500 million of asset growth the trust has increased borrowing $A600 million to $A2.7 billion. Gearing, as a consequence, is up just over 2 percentage points, from 27.6% to 29.7%.

Despite the 18% rise in gross assets & 11.7% asset growth through revaluation, net tangible asset backing increased only 10.6%, from $A2.73/unit to $A3.02/unit. Interest cover fell from 5.1 times to 4.8 times. Net assets rose $A778 million to $A6.1 billion, a 14.6% gain.

What would all these comparative figures look like if GPT had revalued annually? Gross assets certainly wouldn’t have risen 18% in the last year.

The presentation to analysts by GPT Management Ltd chief executive Nic Lyons began with a distinction between “underlying earnings”, up 3.1%, and “headline earnings,” which he said “were impacted by costs accrued to date associated with the Lend Lease merger proposal and the response to the takeover offer from Stockland.”

Despite the drag of these sharemarket exercises, Mr Lyons made no apology for accepting the rise in unit price which has accompanied the bids. Proudly he said: “GPT’s unit price increased over the year, from $A2.99 to $A3.74. GPT’s full-year accumulation (unit price movement & income) return for 2004 was 33.6%, above the S&P/ASX Property 200 Accumulation Index, which delivered a total return of 32%.”

Compare that great return to the previous 3 years’ – 9.9% in 2001, 12.8% in 2002, 8.2% in 2003.

Somewhere in all these pages of presentation, I thought, there’s bound to be a profit figure. It’s in the small print, the no-gloss directors’ report. GPT increased its profit for the year by $A6.2 million – up 1.5% to $A426.4 million.

That was on revenue up 8.2% to $A780.8 million, but with $A53 million of that $A59.2 million gain taken away in increased expenses, up 17.6% to $A354.4 million. The net increase in revaluation reserve was $A579.2 million, up from $A235 million in 2003.

Website: General Property Trust

Earlier story:

24 January 2005: GPT pulls out overdue revaluations to show how bad Stockland offer is

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